102 DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



axillary, 1 to 6 inches loug, terminated by 1 to 2 flowers each. Style turned 

 back ; flowers white. Pod an inch and a hall' to three inches long, somewhat 

 cylindrical or flattened. Elowers in June. Fruits July to August. 



As the pea is grown from the seed, it sports. Gardeners, making use of 

 this tendency, have produced a great number of varieties, differing in length 

 of stem, size, shape, and especially in delicacy of flavor in the fruit. 



The varieties are usually arranged under the heads Short-stalked and Long- 

 stalked, and named from some real or imaginary quality, or after the propagator, 

 or discoverer. 



2. P. arvense, L. (Field Pea.) Differs from the P. sativum in being less deli- 

 cate to the taste. Has only one flower on a flower-stalk. Flowers red. Seeds 

 crowded in the pod, presenting the form of short, quadrangular prisms. Whole 

 plant coarser, and more hardy, enduring heavy frosts ; one variety planted in 

 France endures the hardest frosts of winter, and fruits the following sunnner. 

 Raised largely in Europe for feed for cattle and horses. 



Geography. — The habitat of the pea is from the middle of tlie tenij>erate 

 zones to the edges of the tropics. It fruits well throughout central and south- 

 ern Europe, Egypt, Syria, Japan, India, China, and Cochin China ; but no- 

 where is it more productive and more largely cultivated than in southern 

 Japan, where it constitutes a very important article of food and of internal 

 commerce. 



Etipnologij. — Pisinn, the generic name, is derived from the Latin word 

 piso, beat, pound, or bruise, due either to the means employed to separate 

 the seeds from the pods, or to grind them into flour. Arvense, the specific 

 name, is from the Latin, signifying " field," and sativum from the Latin, sow, 

 or plant. Pea, the common name, is a corruption of the word piso, grind, or 

 bruise. 



History. — The lionie of the Pisum arvense is not ])Ositively known. It is 

 found without cultivation in Italy. The P. sativum is not known at present 

 to be wild anywhere, hence the place Avhere it originated is difficult to 

 discover. It has been claimed to be a variety of P. ar\ense, but its botanical 

 characteristics are .so distinct and constant as to throw that hypothesis into 

 great doubt. 



There are reasons to believe that it was carried into Europe by the 

 Aryans, at a remote period of history ; and it is supposed to have been 

 indigenous in western Asia, along the foothills of the Caucasus, towards 

 Syria, and southeastward to Persia. It was brought to North America by 

 European colonists, and is grown in the kitchen and market garden, and in 

 many regions in the field. 



Cidtivation. — The pea flourishes in a light, rich soil, and yields an abun- 

 dant harvest to generous cultivation. The garden mode of cultivation is 

 usually in drills si.\ to eight inches apart (called double rows), with a space 

 of three feet, and another double row. In the field it is either sown in drills 

 and worked with a horse-hoe or a plough, or sown broadcast like the oat. 

 Among the jjeasantry of Scotland, England, and the Isle of Man the P. arvense 

 is an important field crop, furnishing food for themselves and their domestic 

 animals. 



Use. — The pea is plucked before the seed is ripe, when it is in the milky 

 state ; it is then shelled, and boiled in a small quantity of water, to preserve 

 the delicate flavor, and served plain or with gravies ; it is also cooked with a 

 smaU quantity of salt meat. When ripe, it is used for soup, or ground into 



